Yesterday marked the official debut of a new landscaped plaza in front of the historic Lankershim Train Depot in North Hollywood. 

Located adjacent to the Orange Line platform at Lankershim and Chandler Boulevards, the site was most recently used as a staging area for the construction of a new tunnel connecting to the Red Line across the street.  Post improvements, the 8,500-square-foot space features a diagonal pathway, outdoor seating, overhead lighting, and landscaping.

The new plaza re-creates a small park that was built at the site with the Lankershim Depot in the early 20th century.  According to Metro, space was used for concerts and other local events, and also as a gathering point for patrons of the Pacific Electric Streetcar Lines that once traveled along the same routes as the Orange and Red Lines.

Metro's recreation of the historic plaza dovetails with its past restoration fo the historic depot, which now which was refurbished in 2014 at a cost of $3.6 million.  The century-old building is now occupied by Groundwork Coffee.

In the more distant future, the depot and plaza could be joined by a proposed joint-development set to replace the surrounding North Hollywood Station park-and-ride facility.  Plans call for a collection of high-rise and mid-rise structures containing over office space, retail, and apartments.